Strategies to Improve the Performance of Community Health Volunteers for Tuberculosis Care and Prevention: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Community health volunteers contributed to the total Tuberculosis (TB) case findings;<br />however, the attrition rate of these volunteers was high which reduces their optimal performance.<br />Hence, sustainability of efforts should be explored to retain the community health volunteers in the TB<br />program. Improvement of community health volunteers to perform community-based health education<br />and prevent TB has not been examined consistently around the globe, including Indonesia. This study<br />aimed to explore the strategies to improve performance of community health volunteers for TB care<br />and prevention to reduce the incidence and stop the spread of TB in the community.<br />Methods: A qualitative design was adopted and we used two focus group discussions in 2017 to collect<br />the data. The participants included village health workers as volunteers in two regencies of Bandung<br />City, West Java Indonesia. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.<br />Results: Four major themes should be considered in developing a community-based TB health<br />education program: (1) informing community health volunteers about the benefits and difficulties of<br />being a TB volunteer; (2) recognizing the activities and feelings of volunteers; (3) emphasizing the<br />Willingness to Help Others; and (4) having access to TB training.<br />Conclusion: To develop a community-based health education program for TB care and prevention,<br />community nurses need to listen to the opinions of community health volunteers, and TB patients and<br />their family members to ensure that the health education program is tailored to meet community needs.